Dhaliwal repudiates BJP leader’s allegations, warns of legal action

Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal has dismissed the allegations made by BJP leader Anil Sarin regarding his involvement in a drug-related case as baseless.

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Minister Dhaliwal said the BJP leader had lied and must withdraw his statement, or face legal action. He accused Sarin of making misleading claims to tarnish Dhaliwal’s public image. Dhaliwal said that on May 28, Ajnala police arrested six-seven people from Lakhowal village in his constituency for drug use. The next day, villagers informed him that two of the arrested persons were addicts but did not sell drugs. One of those boys had returned from a rehabilitation centre just a day earlier. After being apprised of the situation, he said, he visited the police station and asked the SHO to investigate further and get back to him.

He said he directed the SHO to shift the two accused to a rehabilitation centre if they were found to be only addicts. The following day, the SHO sent both the accused to the Amritsar Rehabilitation Centre. Meanwhile, FIRs were registered against those youth who were involved in drug peddling. Dhaliwal also showed copies of the FIR to the media and said he had shared this incident on his social media page.

He said that BJP and Akali leaders did not understand the pain of drugs users because their families had never been affected by the menace. But, he said, since he had experienced the loss of a loved one to drugs first-hand he understood the pain of the villagers.